restaurants

Going out for Japanese food in London is not something I regularly do. This is not because I don't like it. Quite the opposite in fact. It is just that as far as sushi is concerned my heart is lost to a restaurant in Munich that serves high quality fish at very fair prices - and, perhaps more importantly, that I have a Japanese friend in my neighbourhood who treats me to all sorts of delicacies. Unfortunately she will be going back to Japan soon, so I was delighted when Emma from Japanese restaurant Tsuru invited me (and a bunch of other writers) to taste their new menu. So one night in late October I ventured east to the Bishopsgate branch of Tsuru (there is another one near the Tate Modern).

Imagine you want to go to one of the world's finest restaurants, but they (almost) won't let you because, no, not because they don't like your dress or credit card, but because you don't own a fax machine. Sounds strange? Not if you are Gordon Ramsay.

I love wine. I love food. I love to combine them and as often as possible I head out to try potentially exciting restaurants, of which London is full. It just so happens that I rarely write about it, mostly because I enjoy the experience so much that I do not want to take notes or annoy other guest by taking photographs. Because of this, my first posting on a fine dining experience is a negative one - a lesson about how one of the world's finest restaurants annoys customers and even puts their money at risk through a stupid booking procedure. Put your hands together for Gordon Ramsay's three Michelin star restaurant in Royal Hospital Road, London.